Blog & News

Help, I’ve Just Received A Cease And Desist Letter!

As intellectual property experts, we spend much of our time sending or responding to cease and desist letters. These letters are the first step in intellectual property (IP) claims. They…

How to protect a TV format

Game show formats and reality TV shows like Love Island and Big Brother have been extremely popular not only in the UK, but also internationally. Format rights are therefore important…

Help! I’ve received a Notice of Threatened Opposition, what do I do now?

Well, let’s start by explaining what a Notice of Threatened Opposition actually is… essentially it’s a form (called a TM7A if you’re interested) that potential opponents of a trade mark…

Don’t like Mondays – it could be worse

Sir Bob Geldof has faced worse blows of course but he can now add ‘being sued for millions by former band mate’ to the list. Johnnie Moylett (aka Johnnie Fingers)…

#BriffaCelebrates – Grossmith

Looking for a perfect Autumn treat?  Visit the Fragrance Floor at Fortnum and Mason. I was there recently to visit our Client Grossmith an experience worth going out of your…

McDonalds facing a string of copyright infringement suits

Oh dear oh dear, what is the matter with McDonalds? Their corporate website is full of warm and fluffy statements about how seriously they take their corporate social responsibility. They…

Infringing Playboy and it’s not Trump!

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) have ruled that hyperlinks can infringe copyright within the EU. In 2011, GS Media published a report regarding nude photos of…

BriffaWay – If we don’t have it you don’t need it

I love my local hardware store on Upper Street. As a pretty hopeless diy-er with the occasional need I first set foot inside encouraged by the bold sign in the…

Cocktails!

The popularity of cocktails and cocktail bars shows no sign of abating with cocktails being sold more and more in many bars and pubs alongside the more standard drinks. Here’s…

A – bit too much TalkTalk!! – £400,000.00 fine for data breach

The Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has issued a record monetary penalty of £400,000 against telecommunications group TalkTalk under the Data Protection Act 1998. The fine is for serious contraventions of…

Up the creek without a Raft – a lesson in IP ownership

The UK courts started back in full swing this week after a two-month summer break, which means that legal practitioners all over the country are eagerly awaiting shiny new legal…

Designer with limited capital? Well, the UK Intellectual Property Office has just reduced its fees…

It was last January that the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) published its consultation on changes to registered design fees within the UK. A little over 9 months later,…

Brexit brings domain name uncertainty

While the questions around the implications of Brexit for registered EU trade marks and designs have been well-publicised, the issue of domain names has been discussed less but the position…

A PUSH or a PUNCH? Apparently it’s all the same

Different words? Different meanings? Different outcomes at 3.00am outside a nightclub? Well no actually, at least from the point of view of a trade mark application. The EU General Court…

EU General Court finds that ringtone/alarm trade mark is not sound

It can be very powerful for a company to have a sound that is synonymous with its brand. Without anything being said, a consumer can hear a few notes or…

Playtime is over: EU court rules hyperlinks infringe copyright

Earlier this month, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed that hyperlinking to creative works protected by copyright (i.e. protected works) can constitute infringement where such works…

Swatch opposed Apple’s trade mark for the “iWatch” and won

Apple better “Watch” out… Swatch has successfully opposed Apple’s application for the trademark iWatch in the UK. Swatch said that on account of their reputation as a quality Swiss watch…

Free Wi-Fi providers are not liable for copyright infringement

Tobias McFadden a German national, wished to promote his business and website by allowing free open access to his Wi-Fi connection.  In 2010, copyrighted content owned by Sony was downloaded,…

A staple purchase?

Asos spends over £20 million in global settlement to end trade mark infringement claims The e-commerce retailer Asos– formerly known as “As Seen On Screen” has agreed to pay out…

Calling all designers: Are your iconic 3D works about to get back into full copyright? Intellectual Property Office issues guidance note 9 September 2016

The long awaited repeal to Section 52 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 is due to take effect on 28th October 2016. From that date 3D works which…

UKIPO says “don’t panic” following Brexit referendum results

While IP legal practitioners were clambering over one another to give their own view of what a post-Brexit landscape might look like, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) quietly issued…

Ashley Madison & Brand Management

“Life is short. Have an affair” (a registered Trade Mark) was the famous slogan of Ashley Madison, a Canadian company launched as a mobile app in 2001.  This was a…

Karen Millen Loses Trade Mark Battle

UK Fashion Designer Karen Millen has lost her fight to trade under her own name following a ruling in the High Court. Central to the dispute was an agreement Millen…

Specsavers: UK Intellectual Property Office approves “SHOULD’VE” trade mark application

Earlier this month, the UK Intellectual Property Office published a trade mark application made on behalf of Specsavers B.V. for the word “SHOULD’VE” / “SHOULDVE”. The company has had trade…

New Rights for Furniture and Jewellery Designers Against Copycats

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 changed in July 2016, reviving copyright protection in artistic works which had previously had their copyright protection cut short to a period of…

No stopping Pokemon GO!

We’ve all heard about the latest augmented reality game and the impact it’s had on our streets. But what does it mean for the world of IP? The game was…

The Real McCoy

In 2013, McDonald’s won a case in the EU Intellectual Property Office (then the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market) challenging the “MacCoffee” trade mark used by Future Enterprises…